Shohin Bonsai : An Excellent Work of Art from Japan

The art of bonsai originated from China. Another Asian country like Japan has been commonly associated to this unique as well.

Not only that the Japanese people have been practicing the art of bonsai for many centuries, they have managed to introduce their own unique bonsai creations like Shohin Bonsai and Mame Bonsai.

In Japanese dictionary, the word Shohin is meant to describe a tiny thing and the bonsai trees categorized as Shohin Bonsai only feature 6 to 8 inches of height.

Bonsai is simply the miniature of the real and big trees we find in our natural environment while Shohin Bonsai is the miniature version of the bonsai tree. Therefore, Shohin is also known as the Japanese traditional art of bonsai that we can literally put on our palm while the word Mame is used by the Japanese people to describe bean.

Just like some other types of bonsai trees, shohin bonsai also requires you to perform hearty and regular care to ensure its healthy growth. Through this tiny bonsai art, we can simply express the living sense of balance and harmony.

It should be a perfect art to express our feel healing of mind as well. It is simply an excellent work of art the represents the beauty of the nature in a small-sized pot.

Hopefully, that simple explanation will be an adequate answer to the question of “what is shohin bonsai?.” Keep on reading the rest of this article should you care to find more information related to this unique type of bonsai.

The Challenges of Growing A Shohin Bonsai

For those who are new to the world of bonsai must find a great challenge to grow a miniature of a big tree found in nature. However, they might be more surprised to see the bigger challenges that come from growing a tiny version of the bonsai tree like shohin bonsai and mame bonsai.

The biggest challenge is this Japanese art would be to create the image of an aged tree in a much smaller version. You will only have to work with an extremely small amount of soil for the bonsai miniature.

Before you start creating your own tiny bonsai tree, it would be best if you learn more about the dynamics of plant growth in this kind of tiny environment. Unlike the regular bonsai tree, the shohin bonsai artists are forced to deal with very limited branches and foliage.

It is more likely that they have to work with even smaller foliage and more limited branches when they wish to create a mame bonsai. Most of the time, the bonsai artists have to rely on their own creativity and imagination in order to come up with a great visualization of the tiny bonsai tree.

The Significance of the Mini Bonsai

Growing a tiny bonsai is surely more challenging and shohin bonsai care also requires a more delicate approach.

In spite of the challenging and time-consuming shohin bonsai care, the lure of this tiny bonsai is surely worthwhile.

Many bonsai artists are literally fascinated by the appearance of a decent shohin bonsai or mame bonsai tree.

The fact that this tiny bonsai only requires tiny space has made it a very popular choice among many apartment dwellers.

This type of bonsai gives them more comfortable options in beautifying their living space with green additions. They will surely have plenty of space available on their windowsills or balcony for many other bonsai trees.

The very small size of this bonsai does not reduce the excitement of having a bonsai tree in their apartments. The tiny size of the bonsai, once again, comes with more benefits to the apartment dwellers. They will have no trouble in moving the tiny bonsai tree to anywhere they like. You will also have more freedom to pick up, twist and turn the tiny bonsai without a help from a turn table.

Choosing the Right Pots for Your Shohin Bonsai Tree

Since the size of a shohin bonsai tree is much smaller than the regular bonsai trees, it is obvious that we have to come up with very small shohin bonsai pots. The use of the tiny pots should lead you to a more delicate shohin bonsai care as more regular fertilizing and watering will be required to ensure its healthy growth.

These days, the interest in this variety of bonsai seems to keep growing very rapidly. Therefore, finding the right bonsai pots should be a lot easier as the market of bonsai pots in now loaded with many beautiful pots meant for the tiny bonsai trees.

Since the art of tiny bonsai originated from Japan, it should be of no surprise to see plenty of places in this Asian country that produce plenty of unique shohin bonsai pots. Seto, Yokkaichi, Tokoname and Shigaraki would be the places you need to visit in Japan should you wish to purchase unique tiny pots for your shohin or mame bonsai.

The pots come in many different sizes and interesting shapes. From the smallest shohin bonsai pots that are only 2 inches wide up to the one with 10 inches wide are all available there.

Fortunately, there is no longer need for you to travel far away to Japan just to purchase the right pots for your tiny bonsai tree. A number of countries in Europe and the United States are now producing this particular tiny pot as well.

The quality of the shohin bonsai pots produced in western countries deserves plenty of appreciation. Despite the fact that the tradition in Asian countries is still unmatched, the production of tiny pots in western countries has now reached high standards.

Over the last few years, there are many tiny pots have found their perfect matches. The wide selection of tiny bonsai pots has given you a great opportunity to be more creative in displaying your shohin and mame bonsai trees. In order to keep you away from detracting the beauty and harmony of the bonsai tree, it is highly recommended that you do not mix different styles.